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Vassar to host first Global Campus event March 28; presentations by two students and four faculty members, followed by discussion by the campus community.

On Wednesday, March 28, Vassar College will host, “Global Campus,” an event that will celebrate the student government’s Sesquicentennial by focusing on the college’s current and future status as a place for global learning and dialog, President Elizabeth Bradley announced.

The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Villard Room, located on the second floor of Main Building. Bradley said the event is part of the observance of the 150th anniversary of the Vassar Student Association (VSA). It is being hosted by the VSA in collaboration with the President’s Office and Vassar’s Engaged Pluralism Initiative. Food featuring cuisine from throughout the world will be served.

“Global Campus” will feature remarks by two students and four faculty members, followed by group discussions on each topic addressed by the speakers. The student speakers will be Ruoyu Li ’19, a political science major from Beijing, China, and Maya Sudarkasa ’18, a history and French/Francophone Studies double major from Silver Spring, MD and Johannesburg, South Africa. Faculty speakers are: Political Science Prof. Himadeep Muppidi, Associate Biology Prof. Jodi Schwarz, Hispanic Studies Prof. Lizabeth (Lisa) Paravisini-Gebert, and History Prof. Maria Höhn.

Schwarz will speak on “The Training of Scientists in a Global Context. “ The topic of Höhn’s talk will be “Education as a Transnational Space.” Sudarkasa’s topic is “The Question of Globalism: Considering the Origin Stories of a Contemporary Movement.”

President Bradley said the event was being held to spotlight Vassar’s commitment to expanding the college’s global curriculum and enhancing its service to international students and faculty. “Vassar has embraced these values almost since its inception,” Bradley said, “but today’s expanding global economy demands that we focus our attention as educators on international issues more than ever.”

VSA President Anish Kanoria, who was born and raised in Kolkata, India, is the first international student to head the student government. Kanoria said it was fitting that the VSA was taking part in the event as part of its 150th anniversary celebration.

“It has been rewarding to be part of this truly collaborative effort to start the conversation on what it means to be a Global Campus, and the VSA has been an integral part of the process,” he said. “This event is a first step in engaging in this discussion, and it is my hope that it will be an ongoing conversation.”

To commemorate the VSA’s 150th year, the organization is contacting many former VSA presidents and asking them to relate their experiences at Vassar and how those experiences contributed to their post-Vassar careers. Their responses will be published in a book celebrating the VSA’s 150 years of service to the college.

“Pausing to observe our 150th anniversary is a good way to reflect on the role of the VSA and to discuss how we can be even more effective in the future,” Kanoria said.